Written by Blanca Morales for Rubenstein Law
Bright and early on a Saturday morning, a team of Rubenstein Law staff made their way to Liberty City, ready to "dig in."
Rubenstein Law's Community Involvement Committee organizes service projects throughout the state. These opportunities allow our staff to be involved in various ways such as walks, clean ups, fundraising and school supply drives, to name a few.
On March 23rd, the firm sponsored and planted 10 fruit trees for Charles R. Drew K-8 Center. This Food Forest will be a gift that keeps on giving. It will empower the students to learn about healthy eating and “where food comes from.” They’ll cultivate, harvest, and prepare their meals from the Food Forest's yield.
The folks at Million Trees Miami, who established this partnership, instructed the volunteers from RLaw on tree planting. It was a great morning for the firm's staff and their children!
The kids loved planting trees so much, they promptly named each one they worked on. They even named an orange tree "Robert," in honor of our CEO!
Miami Children’s Initiative (MCI) is spearheading the educational component of the Food Forest by working alongside Wellness in the Schools. MCI prepares children in Liberty City from cradle to college with the resources they need to thrive.
“[The food forest] will teach the students to be self-sustaining and give them the tools they need to live a healthier lifestyle, and put it into practice,” said Joe Martinez from MCI. According to statistics, Liberty City has a per capita income lower than 97% of other U.S. neighborhoods. As a result, many of the children at the school don’t have all their nutritional needs met at home.
Wellness in the Schools (WITS), a national organization developed to bring healthy meals to students, has been working with Charles R. Drew for three years. Two years ago, they obtained a vegetable and herb garden. They often bring the veggies and herbs from the raised boxes to the cafeteria for school lunches and tastings.
“It’s a dream that we now have trees here and can create a Food Forest. It’s something we’ve been talking about for years. I just want to pinch myself ‘cause I can’t believe it’s finally happening!” said Allyce Perret-Gentil, who works with WITS.
“Thank you so much, Rubenstein Law, because this was so necessary. It was something that needed to happen at Charles R. Drew!”
